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                Motorist Attacks Soldiers Guarding French Mosque

   by Associated Press

   A man rammed his car into four soldiers guarding a mosque Friday in the
   southeast French city of Valence, and he was stopped when a soldier
   fired and wounded him, authorities said. The attacker's motives were
   unclear.

   One soldier was slightly injured in the leg, and a passer-by was hit in
   the leg by a stray bullet, the interior and defense ministers said in a
   joint statement.

   The man, who was not immediately identified, was arrested and
   hospitalized, according to the statement by Interior Minister Bernard
   Cazeneuve and Defense Minister Jean-Yves L Drian.

   The attacker twice rammed his car into the soldiers guarding the main
   mosque in Valence, the mayor and a spokesman for the prosecutor's
   office said. The soldiers, some thrown to the ground, fired warning
   shots and one then fired to disable the driver, who was hit in the arm
   and leg, Mayor Nicolas Daragon told iTele TV.

   The man's motives were being investigated. The secretary-general of the
   prosecutor's office, Frederic Ouiseau, told iTele that authorities must
   be "extremely prudent about the motive'' for the attack.

   France is on high alert after the November 13 Paris attacks that killed
   130 people. The soldiers involved in Friday's incident were part of the
   reinforced security guarding places of worship and other sensitive
   sites.

   Daragon, the Valence mayor, said the incident occurred between two
   prayer services, and hundreds of people were at the mosque. Some were
   in the parking lot at the time.

   "Even if this happened near a mosque, the target was the soldiers,''
   the mayor said.
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/motorist-attacks-soldiers-guarding-french-mosque/3127764.html